Play The Game – NSW Greens Turning Back The Refugees?

Last week in Sydney’s Leichardt Council something happened that surprised many a political spectator.

The Greens voted against helping refugees and instead backed the Liberals and the racists that filled council chambers. It seemed to many the Greens in Leichardt have their own refugee turn back policy.

At least that’s the story the papers told, and while that may be the jist of it there is more to the story than just the Greens bowing down to some local Nazis.

In Rozelle there is a large complex called Callan Park, long being used as a mental health facility. There are however large sections within Callan park that are not in use.

Given the crisis going on in Syria and the fact that Australia has agreed to take in a token number of refugees (nowhere near enough in my mind) the Labor Party in Leichardt thought that it would be charitable to offer a welcoming hand to some of these desperate families and offer accommodation at the Callan Park facility.

The Labor members of Leichardt Council put forward a notice of motion so that due consideration could be taken beforehand by the other councillors.

That motion proposed by Labor Councillor Simon Emsley and linked here, was to investigate the possibility of using part of the Callan Park facility as a Refugee Welcome Centre and temporary accommodation facility for refugees to help them adapt to their new environment and offer them assistance whilst settling.

Syrian refugee children queue for food while Greens play politics in council

The motion was for investigation and community consultation only.

The Greens supported the motion as one would expect, and the motion was set to pass with or without the Liberals. The Liberal’s have a long standing view that the facility should be used solely for mental health issues and that the area in question should be heavily funded and refurbished for that purpose. This is a view that is seemingly reliant on squeezing blood from a stone, as the funds are not just sitting there waiting to be spent, and the area’s in question have been vacant by up to 30 years.

The matter was being heavily discussed in the community and had widespread support, with the notable exception from one community organisation, the Friends Of Callan Park who, like the Liberals had other plans that involved blood and stones.

It is important to note that up until this point the Greens were supporting the motion fully and had spoken in support of it.

However was this support genuine or was it all for the publics benefit?

The Greens suddenly changed their support to demanding the inclusion of some ammendents like these below

“That Leichhardt Council writes to the Leader of the Federal Opposition and the Prime Minister calling for an end to mandatory detention, all asylum seekers to be processed onshore and be permitted to stay in the community on bridging visas with the right to work while their refugee status is determined . Calling for all offshore detention facilities to be closed and for no children to be detained in any detention facility.”

This is a ridiculous and childish amendment that clearly is done for PR purposes by the Greens. The Greens know that this would never be supported by either Party, just as Labor would never expect the Greens to pass an amendment condemning the knifing of Christine Milne by the right-wing faction of the Greens and the installation of Di Natale as leader.

“That Council put up a banner that says ‘Leichhardt Council is a refugee welcome zone and is committed to welcoming refugees”

For the Party that has spent so long condemning the use of slogans to insist that a banner is made with a slogan emblazoned across it and having it hung up in the suburb is hugely hypocritical and once again childish in the extreme.

That Council write to the Prime Minister and opposition leader calling on them to work towards peace in Syria and other areas of conflict in the world.

“That this be referred to the Callan Park task force“

This is just plain idiotic and is indicative of why the Greens are not taken seriously as a Party by most, it is certainly an indication that nobody associated with the Greens in the Leichardt area should be allowed anywhere near the world of politics.

The Greens want Malcolm Turnbull and Bill Shorten to work together and do what the United Nations have failed to do, bring peace to Syria, and have Israel and Palestine smoke a peace pipe amongst other such things. Just to make the notion of this even more comical they want the miracle peacemaker delegation to be called the “Callan Park Taskforce”

I think someone in Callan Park must have forgotten to lock the drugs cabinet…

“That Council write to State and Federal Governments to request funding for the completion of the Callan Park Masterplan, the wellness centre and mental health facilities”

This last one would see millions of taxpayer dollars in funding handed over to the completion of the Callan Park Masterplan, something involving the Friends Of Callan Park.

These amendments were put forward by the Greens and rejected as they would have undoubtedly expected.

The Greens then sought for Council to change its longstanding rules and allow another motion to be put up at short notice. When this attempt at an abuse of process was rejected they claimed Labor had manipulated the process by following the rules.

In the end the motion didn’t pass due to the Greens siding with the Liberal Councillors.

The Greens then pumped out a media release stating, and please note the capitals are theirs not mine.

“GREENS CALL ON LABOR TO STOP OFFSHORE PROCESSING OF ASYLUM SEEKERS, DETENTION OF CHILDREN AND MANDATORY DETENTION OF ASYLUM SEEKERS – LABOR REFUSES.”

It seems the Greens don’t understand that decisions in council don’t override those of Federal Parliament.

On the night of the vote in council the chambers were full of racist protesters, many claimed that the Greens members chose to back down in a show of gutlessness, however I don’t believe this is the case at all.

The group was not Reclaim Australia as many have claimed, they were a mob that was orchestrated by local racist Nick Folkes. Folkes claims to not be a Nazi, a bogan or racist but he is extremely vocal on many issues, these issues more often than not involve people with a darker shade of skin to him. Remember when the Burqa debate in parliament was in full swing and those idiots turned up at security in Klu Klux Klan and other outfits? That was Nick Folkes and friends.

No law against idiots – Nick Folkes and friendsImage – Fairfax

The actions of the Greens on this occasion are what is known as “Wedge Politics”. This is a method by using your numbers to try and wedge your opponent into a position they do not want to be in and then slam them for it.

The Greens in their attempts to put in amendments sought for the Labor Councillors to have two options, criticise their own Federal Party or vote against their own motion. Either option would give the Greens ammunition to use against their chief political rivals during upcoming elections at all levels. The refugees are merely pawns in this political game, their needs are an afterthought at best.

Unfortunately for the Greens this attempt at skulduggery failed and they have only succeeded in shining a light on the motivations of the NSW Greens and placing a huge question mark over moral integrity of the Party considering they have the Party’s endorsement.

What is also interesting and an indication that the Greens were never looking to support the motion despite their public comments is that the President of the Friends Of Callan Park is a man by the name of Hall Greenland.

Greenland and Bandt pose for a pic awaiting their Latte’s in a trendy cafe at a table it looks like they brought in especially for the occasion

So here is the Convenor of the NSW Greens heading a local lobby group that opposes the plans to help refugees and people wonder why the Greens suddenly changed their mind? Call it a hunch but I don’t think it was racist redneck related.

Also featuring prominently on the Friends Of Callan Park website is the State Member for Balmain, the Greens Jamie Parker. Regular readers of mine may be familiar with his hypocrisy on union resources. It is clear that Parker and Greenland work closely together and I think there is a damn good chance they were behind the whole political point-scoring plot.

One thing that has been made abundantly clear is in NSW given a choice between long suffering refugees, millions of dollars of funding for vested interests, political point scoring, wedging political opponents, and political slogans the Greens have allocated the refugees a position in their priority list.

Last.

How proud the membership must be…

Help Crowd Fund The Jacksonville Book Here

Afterthought:

I am expecting a barrage of criticism from Green supporters for covering this instead of ignoring it.

I don’t get anywhere near the level of abuse for shining a light on hypocrisy or corruption in other Party’s oddly enough, I guess their supporters have a realisation that not all is perfect.

I would just ask those looking to vent to consider that perhaps their anger towards me is misguided and should instead be directed at those responsible for it rather than those who report it.

29 thoughts on “Play The Game – NSW Greens Turning Back The Refugees?”

as you know Peter, i’m no Green … or any party member – that system has already shown itself to be completely broken.

may i make an observation …
wedge politics tactics serve to highlight hypocrisy.
… for example, the ALP saying “lets help the Syrian refugees” whilst supporting the bombing of Syria and the war in Iraq (under false pretences / fabricated evidence).
… this is the primary reason there exists such a thing as Syrian refugees.

supporting and participating in this war was a “bipartisan” action.
… thanks for your humanity on that one ALP (expect that from the coalition, but the ALP ! … no wonder you feel the need to so harshly attack the Green agenda … it would be a surprise if Australian voting refugees were not seeking alternatives to these two completely bought and broken parties – sorry National Party, i no longer count you as a Political Party … just a withered appendage of the Liberal Party).

i could equally make an argument that this is an example of the ALP using wedge politics against the Greens.

the ALP has shown itself to be deeply racist – why, just look at the delightful and humane Naru and PNG solutions they introduced to ‘stop the boats’ … oops … sorry, that’s a bit awkward !!
… boats full of refugees we created by supporting false wars.
turned back, drowned, imprisoned (then abused and some raped – deny! deny! deny !).

out here in ‘i dont support any party land’, the ALP and the Coalition look like the same joker wearing different colour ties … both lying, corrupt, hateful, broken wankers in different ties at that.
… their human embodiment would be a couple of selfish, fat old rich bastards, pretending to be in opposition whilst sharing the spoils of the crumbs form their masters’ tables (a sanctioned orgy of excess).
… and to hell with those they purport to represent.

as for the relationship between the ALP and the Greens, a wise colleague once told me:
… “dont bite the arse that covers yours”

maybe that’s something to consider
… or perhaps this is just another distraction as the population slides into the abyss of confusion, helplessness and sound bites?

“the knifing of Christine Milne by the right-wing faction of the Greens and the installation of Di Natale as leader.”
Ahhh Wixxy, how left of the ALP is the Green’s “right”?
Have a look at Milne’s farewell speech at the National Press Club. Ignored by the msm of course. Absolutely inspirational and certainly no bitterness.

Thank you Owen1967 you also say it how it is. very sad time for Australia these days when major parties are so alike that it’s hard to know who to second preference.
Hoping Labor will fix their shit up so I can continue to 2nd pref them.

Looking at their agendas re things like unions and penalty rates I’d say they are right of the Liberal’s centre faction, but that’s just my opinion, and their social policies mirror many Liberal centre faction opinions.
Where they differ however is their willingness to debate and their transparency, on that note the Greens are a million years behind

Actually in this case the Liberal Party were willing to try and negotiate an outcome that might improve things for the refugees. The Greens instead told the public they supported the bill whilst knowing they were going to make that support conditional on ridiculous amendments and then finally voting against it.
On that note I give the Liberals credit for being open and transparent with their intentions instead of intentionally deceiving their supporters as the Greens did to score cheap political points.
If that is how Greens operate I’d be putting them last on any ballot paper.
At least those who voted for Mr Forbes the racist in Balmain knew the position he would take on refugees, those who voted Green clearly didn’t.
To mislead your supporters intentionally and vote against what you claim to support shows you have no respect for your own members and zero integrity.
I have called Labor and the Liberal Party out for hypocrisy many times, however this is a new low

Again with the idiotic Greens bashing when the ALP play racist games all the time. Honest to god you become unhinged with this sort of moronic drivel Peter.

The Greens are always right to call for stopping jailing of refugees, how dare you complain that no major party will do so when they frigging well should.

Your ”knifing of Christine Milne” is also a lie, she resigned and Di Natale took over, simple and quite legal without the bullshit and extremist nonsense of the ALP and LNP who wear their dirty laundry in public and bore us all rigid.

And a newsflash, refugees from Syria do not need to be housed in hell holes, they are entitled by law to live where ever they want to. This was just ALP grandstanding to pretend they give a flying fuck while they continue to love jailing babies on Nauru.

I really don’t know what to say, you Peter have a very powerful voice which can be good but can also leave a sad trail of confusion. It leaves the Greens who do wish to negotiate, few places to go. I used to be a Libs supporter, shifed to Labor and due to off shore detention and other things that didn’t sit well with me (like branch stacking etc), I settled with Greens with 2nd preference for Labor. Shorten is a wet rag that needs wringing, it’s a pity because Labor has many people who would have a better relationship with the voters.

Really, where else is there to go if you don’t want to compromise your own standards?

ALP Grandstanding eh? I guess that’s why the Greens backed it up until the last minute eh.

Newsflash Marilyn, the refugees will need temporary accommodation, I’m pretty sure there not over there in a refugee camp on their iPads going over Domain.com looking for a house

As for Milne, it was an example of a ridiculous amendment, however Greens supporters seem awfully touchy on the subject, almost as touchy as Bandt and Hanson Young…

I’m not complaining about anyone asking for refugees not to be held in detention, but once again feel free to put words in my mouth. I am saying that the Greens did not support refugees in Leichardt, the Greens there lied to the public and there supporters about the support they were going to give, and the Greens played a dirty political game and lost
You too Maz are a fine example of their deceptive conduct, you always claim to have no loyalty to the Greens, but say one word against them and you are little miss predictable.
My experience with the Greens is they preach high morals and in practice are highly deceptive and opportunistic
This is just one example

Absolutely agree Peter. The Greens are treacherous. Predominantly well off professionals, high-horse youth and tend towards the LNP on too many occasions. Have never forgotten their treachery over the ETS in 2010. Unforgivable.

I choose to stay with Labor as those on the Left share my values. I agree totally with your views on Shorten and the right side of Labor, however I believe the only way to change the Party is from inside it, which is why I have written so many pieces on party reform and have so many enemies within my own Party.

For me there is no other Party, and I try to support independent candidates if they have the right values.

My experiences with the Greens have been less than impressive, but while I have little respect for most of their MP’s I do have respect for some of their members, despite many of them being worse than the right wing nut jobs when it comes to abusing others, two sides of the same coin…

Thank you for the honesty, love the left side of labor and will continue to support them in all ways possible, but I am a Greens member and still respect what they stood for when I joined. Like you I can only change things from within and that is what I will fight for. Just wish with all my heart that we could get rid of Shorten.

Shorten and his right faction mates are dragging the Parliamentary Party into the abyss as they feast on their own greed and ambition. it is perfectly obvious to anyone prepared to look at the Party’s current standing with the electorate, with eyes wide open and brain in gear.

Turnbull has them on the ropes with his personal approval still surging and the time will never be better to call a double dissolution, head to a General Election in both Houses and control convincingly both.

Shorten is now as bad in the polls as the previous failed ALP Opposition leaders. While Beasley polled well and intelligent he was too nice, too meek and mild and physically just didn’t have the look.
Crean was filling a gap, always a loser and Latham, forget it.

Shorten it seems will not give up his absurd desire to see himself as King of the Castle and stand down of his own volition, so unless he can be convinced by senior members of the caucus to resign, be ready for a long Turnbull reign, despite the Abbott and Co sideline attacks.

60% of rank and file Party members voted for Anthony Albanese as their choice of leader. I am convinced Shorten gained the majority of the caucus vote by heavy leaning from his mates on the right, convincing the more gullible to vote the way ‘it was suggested’. Gutless wonders.

I have voiced my opinion to those I feel will listen, however I despair there doesn’t seem to be the will to act from within. I am of the opinion our Labor MP’s are there essentially at the will of their electorates hence listening to those who sent them to Canberra on the voters behalf.

The majority spoke, 60% of them and were ignored by the heavies on the Right in the Caucus. That is a fact

Comrade,
I loved your little addendum
“Afterthought:
I am expecting a barrage of criticism from Green supporters for covering this instead of ignoring it.”
Not only are you a bloody fine writer , but is that a touch of clairvoyancy drifting from you ?
How right you were .
Find a fault with a Greenie and they come out of the woodwork wailing like banshees, running round in breathless indignation . .
FFS , they are like a herd of cats in a room full of rocking chairs ..
I took great joy sticking you article right up a couple of Greenie mates,
There reaction, ? It was a Labor setup. probably engineered by Albo
You gotta laugh at the dipstips or you’d go bat shit crazy .
Te Greens credibility level on this issue is about as high as Abbotts IQ , {can that be in the negative ?}

controversially knocked back the plan when it was first floated last month, due to local government politicking that saw the Greens and Liberals vote against the Labor proposal amid disagreement over council procedures.
This time, Labor and Greens councillors combined to pass the motion, while Liberal councillors opposed and an independent, John Stamolis?, abstained.